Is it usual not to supply guest towels in France....?

[JanB]

We booked to stay in a beautiful Quercynoise house and are now enjoying the tranquil countryside in the Correze region.

The house has everything, except towels. The owner says they have never been asked to provide them in four years of letting, guests bring their own and he considers the provision of towels more a hotel thing.

I know some years ago, it was not so usual for even bedlinens to be supplied but I am a bit shocked as the house is the upper end of the, eg £700 per week low season. The owner also said he talks to other owners and they all advise not to provide towels as they go missing. Bearing in mind we had to arrange our own house insurance as well as give 500euro damage deposit, surely any such loss would be covered for them and less likely to occur. Bizarre.

On the practical side, we could not shower when we arrived in the evening and had to go this morning and buy towels which we cannot take home as they will not fit in our suitcase.

I am just interested in what other France property renters do in this regard......

[Hells Bells]

It is still not uncommon in my village for towels not to be supplied, even if linen is.

[French Cricket]

It's very common indeed, JanB. Is your house French-owned? If so, it would be almost unheard of for towels to be provided, even now and even if bedlinen is provided. Often you get the option to 'hire' towels if they're not included, although it sounds as though you weren't offered that.

I have to say that I don't quite understand why though. We provide towels, naturellement, as do many English owners, and I wouldn't consider not doing so, but we almost always have to take them if we're staying somewhere else.

[kevsboredagain]

I've also heard of people not supplying towels as well in France and it's probably my most often asked question.

I find the argument not to supply them in case they go missing amusing and it must be so inconvenient for anyone not arriving by car to have to pack them into suitcases. It certainly gives one easy advantage over any competitors.

[Hells Bells]

I recall visiting a French hotel with an aunt when I was 16, and having to pay an extra daily charge to have hot water in the room.

[French Cricket]

Hot water in the room? Luxury

I remember having to pay to have a shower in French hotels not so very long ago

[Hells Bells]

It was in the Pyrenees.

[JanB]

Hot water in the room? Luxury

I remember having to pay to have a shower in French hotels not so very long ago

Squat toilets are my major bete noir in France....I adore the Mediaeval vilages and towns but draw the line at that!

It seems not supplying towels depends on nationality of the owner. Here, they are Belgian, and we are their first English guests, they get mainly German and Dutch, who drive down and expect to provide their own towels. I feel we Brits are pretty fabulous hosts when it comes to what we provide.....perhaps we see it from the guest perspective and adapt accordingly.

In fairness, they were most apologetic about it and realised it would be difficult to bring towels if flying and agreed to cover cost of towels, adding they were sorry they had not thought about it. Luckily, nearby friends came to our rescue.

[GRL]

I'm in France and I supply bed linen, tea towels, a bathroom hand towel and a bathroom mat but NOT towels. I don't own a tumble drier and find it hard to get the towels as soft as so many guests demand. Guests are always reminded to bring them but we add a proviso that we can supply non matching non fluffy ones (free of charge) if bringing them is a problem ie coming by plane or (motor)bike for example.

[Hells Bells]

Can't remember the last time I had to use a squat toilet in France, with the exception of the Aires on the motorway without proper services.

[French Cricket]

Come to the Pyrenees again, Helen All mod cons here!

[Fleur]

We are in France and let our home when we don't need to be here. We do the same as Rosie. Our house is not high end property.

Many of the Aires along the A10 have been upgraded recently and squat (Turkish) toilets are being replaced with better toilets.

[CarolineH]

Just to continue this little TC - a lot of my French friends consider squat toilets (à la Turque) to be more hygenic in public than others - because you don't have to touch anything. (I don't think they understand the British habit of hovering!)

[Circé]

We get a lot of fly-drive around here, so supply of towels is essential IMO.
Towels are rarely provided by French-owned rentals. I've chatted to Fench owners and they raise their eyebrows when I tell them linen & towels are included in all the rentals I manage. They rarely tap into the Uk fly-drive market, most think there's just one flight a week out of Bergerac to London, they don't have a clue!
Ok, I had to train some of our owners who didn't want to do pool towels, but I pointed out that if they don't guests will use their nice bath towels.... yes they could claim back on the damage deposit for stained towels, but who needs the hassle when jazzy pool towels can be purchased for sweeties?

[paolo]

Just for balance, I don't live in the UK and am renting a not-cheap house in St Ives - towels are not provided, which I find rather extraordinary.